On Wednesday, October 8, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was unveiled, with Professor Omar Yaghi among the three recipients. He recently received the Great Arab Minds Award in the UAE.
Dubai’s Ruler, who personally presented Yaghi with his award, celebrated this significant achievement.
“Last year, we recognized Professor Omar Yaghi with the Arab Geniuses Award in Natural Sciences. Today, we applaud his Nobel Prize in Chemistry,” stated Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai.
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The leader expressed pride in the exceptional talent emerging from the Arab world.
“We celebrate Professor Omar and the Arab world for these brilliant minds. Our nation is rich in intellect, and our mission is to restore confidence in ourselves, our youth, and scholars. This is our message in the Arab Geniuses Award and our humanitarian, cultural, and intellectual projects.”
On Wednesday, Omar Yaghi, Susumu Kitagawa, and Richard Robson won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for developing metal–organic frameworks.”
Born into a refugee family, Professor Omar advanced to become a Chemistry professor at UC Berkeley and a globally recognized scientist, hailed as the father of reticular chemistry.
Yaghi has made significant strides in reticular chemistry, leading to innovative solutions for global challenges. He has authored over 300 papers, with his work cited more than 250,000 times.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The over-century-old prize, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, grants winners 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million), alongside the global prestige of winning one of the most esteemed science awards.
“They discovered ways to form entirely new materials, featuring large cavities akin to hotel rooms where guest molecules can enter and exit,” stated Heiner Linke, Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, during a press briefing.
“These materials are like Hermione’s handbag from Harry Potter, capable of storing vast amounts of gas in a small space.”
The laureates developed molecular structures with spacious passages for gases and chemicals, useful for capturing desert air water, sequestering carbon dioxide, and storing toxic gases.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was the third award announced this year, following the tradition after medicine and physics.
Inputs from Reuters
